Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the leading causes of disability and death worldwide. COPD exacerbation is usually treated with antibiotics, systemic corticosteroids, and inhaled bronchodilators. We present a case of recurrent COPD exacerbation that was treated repeatedly with standard therapy. Dynamic expiratory computed tomography of the chest was done, which revealed c...

Between 1986 and 1988 aortopexy was carried out on 12 patients with primary tracheomalacia and five with tracheobronchomalacia; their median age was 5 months (1 month-7 years). All patients had stridor, 14 had had cyanotic and apnoeic episodes, and 10 had had 'death' attacks. Eight patients (47%) had associated gastro-oesophageal reflux. Six patients (35%) were helped by aortopexy alone, and a ...

Anesthetic management of patients with retrosternal goiter remains challenging as acute airway compromise may occur both during induction and recovery of anesthesia. We report the case of a 51 year old lady with retrosternal goiter and tracheal deviation who underwent total thyroidectomy. Comprehensive contingency plans were an essential prerequisite for successful management of difficult airwa...

Pathological collapsibility of the upper airways, caused by many different genetic and environmental insults, is known as tracheomalacia in humans. We determined that Tmem16a, a member of an evolutionarily conserved family of predicted transmembrane proteins, is expressed in the developing trachea. We report that all mice homozygous for a null allele of Tmem16a died within one month of birth an...

OBJECTIVE To determine the sensitivity and specificity of airway fluoroscopy in the diagnosis of pediatric laryngotracheal abnormalities. DESIGN Retrospective chart review. SETTING Tertiary care children's hospital. PATIENTS Thirty-nine children, with a mean age of 18 months at the time of evaluation, were evaluated for stridor. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Diagnoses made by airway fluoroscopy...

A 60-pack-year smoker presented with cough, dyspnea and orthopnea of three months' duration. Spirometry revealed severe reduction in maximal expiratory flow; CT of the chest and bronchoscopy demonstrated expiratory collapse of a mid-tracheal segment, and a presumptive diagnosis of tracheomalacia was made. A right lateral thoracotomy was performed to resect the unstable segment and improve maxim...